Trying to be Noticed
by MewLover54
Summary: Pikachu has a crush on Oshawott, but Oshawott sees her as a rival for Ash. Can she get him to see her as a girl rather than an opponent. Rating may change, depending on what I want from the fic or what you want. AU fic. Pikachu's a girl. PikaWott, PikaBun and SniWott! Changed rating due to swearing, violence, and a possible lemon later.
1. Pikachu's Problem

ML54: This story was inspired when a friend of mine made me watch his favourite episodes of Pokemon (Everyone of them with Lugia in!)

Sparky: Guess who's in this?

ML54: I have altered a lot in this fic and Pikachu is a girl! But this story will have my three favourite Mortal Pokemon pairing in!

Oshawott: Til then, ML54 doesn't own Pokemon!

**Pikachu's Problem**

Pikachu jumped away from Snivy's Leaf Blade, grinning as she did so. Right now, the pair were in a clearing with their trainer and other travelling friends, Ash, Iris, Dawn and Cilan. Pikachu was working on her dodging while Snivy was working on her aim.

Though they both knew this only really benefited the one winning, it didn't stop them. The two loved to battle THAT much! Snivy threw a Vine Whip at her. Responding to this, Pikachu ducked, the vine narrowly missing her black nose.

She saw that everyone was watching. She grinned and rolled to the side before Snivy could throw her vine down. Even Emolga was interested, despite not really battling herself. Pikachu knew the girl only really joined because she liked Iris and knew getting food would be easier now. It annoyed Pikachu, but being the leader and peacemaker, she decided to keep it to herself...

...besides, Snivy tells Emolga off for her.

Said girl was about to throw another Vine Whip before her trainer called to them. "Alright! Great work you two!" Ash said to them as they ran up to him. "You girls did great." Pikachu beamed. See, for quite a while, Ash thought she was a guy, not noticing the heart-shaped tail. It was only when Dawn mentioned it, that Ash realised his error and had basically made an apology every few hours to her.

She forgave him the first time since her tail wasn't that noticeable for so long. She had finally reached her maturity age last year and her tail groove had deepened and was now more defined. "Pika! (Thanks Ash!)"

"Snivy. (Thank you.)" Snivy also said, their trainer not really understanding them. The two girls went to join the rest of the Pokemon before Snivy slipped away to a moss covered rock a little ways to the left in the sun.

Pikachu shook her head. The snake loves to sunbathe almost as much as she loves to battle. She then went to find her best friend, Buneary.

How the two rodents had met and befriended was actually quite embarrassing. See, Buneary didn't know about the heart-shaped tail thing at all and thought that she was a guy. But what made it worse, was the fact that Buneary had got a crush on her as well.

It was after Buneary had spun the two away from their frozen group, that Pikachu had to explain that she wasn't into girls like that, thinking that the bunny was a lesbian. That was when Buneary finally saw her error and started balling her eyes out, calling herself an idiot.

But, after Team Rocket tried and failed to capture them, Dawn had caught Buneary and the two became very good friends. Though Buneary sometimes goes a bit shy since she thinks that the mouse still thought she was gay. Then there were the times where Buneary was daydreaming about finding a mate near her, so Buneary thought Pikachu thought she was making oogly eyes at her. It's always very embarrassing.

She soon found the rabbit in a world of her own, so Pikachu sat next to her and prodded her with a finger, using this to stop the bunny's strange impulses. Buneary shook out of it and smiled to her best friend. "Hey Pikachu."

"Hi Buneary. Daydreaming about guys again?" Buneary blushed, rubbing the back of her head mareepishly.

"Well...You never know when a potential mate comes around..." Pikachu shook her head at Buneary. She truly was a romantic at heart, her contests being her second love.

"Anyone inparticular?" Buneary blushed further.

"Well, he was a Raichu and I a Lopunny...and before you ask, yes a HE!" Pikachu giggled as Buneary pulled her fluff over her face. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Well, it WAS very funny."

"I fail to see the funny side." Pikachu rolled her eyes.

"You're the one who made the mistake. Anyway, I'm here for some...well actually a lot of help." Buneary suddenly became serious, letting her fluff go and listening intently. "How...how do you get guys to notice you?"

Buneary recoiled a bit, before pondering the idea. She doesn't really get a lot of attention at all. "Um...I don't know. I guess if I really do attract anyone it might be, without trying to sound too biased, my good looks." Pikachu's smile faltered a little and glanced around the group, making sure they're okay.

They seemed fine, which was good. "Why do you ask?"

Pikachu's ears drooped, flat against her skull. "Oh...no reason really..." The rabbit, however, saw through this little façade, seeing her blush a bit.

"Oh my Arceus! You like someone!" Buneary exclaimed, hopping up and down in joy, causing a lot of the other Pokemon to turn to them. Pikachu slapped a paw over her best friend's mouth, trying to act nonchalant to the others.

"Um...we're playing twenty questions. She won!" She then dragged her friend off before they ask questions or, in Axew and Scraggy's case, ask to play.

* * *

Once the two were in the wooded area, near the edge so they can still see the group. "Please don't just shout stuff like that out randomly, it's embarras...EW! Gross!" Pikachu exclaimed, rubbing her, now saliva moist, paw on a nearby tree. Buneary's eyes sparkled in prospect of finally being able to talk about Pikachu's desires rather than her own.

"Who? Who? Who?" Pikachu turned away, looking out at the clearing.

"Not tell..." She cut herself off with a low growl when she witnessed something. Buneary, confused, looked to what was happening.

It was Emolga, using Attract on Oshawott to get her an apple. "Why can't she just get her own food? Why take advantage of Oshawott's affections...taking him for granted..." Buneary looked to and from the otter and mouse before her smile almost broke her face in half.

"You like Oshawott!" A startled Pikachu slapped her paw over Buneary's mouth again, putting on a defensive face.

"W-well yeah, a bit...But it's just a crush! It'll go away!" She drew her paw away before the rabbit licked it again. Buneary then withdrew her tongue which she was going to use again, before her face put on a peculiar look.

"Why does your paw taste of ketchup and mud?" Pikachu blushed, twiddled her paws and looked at them.

"Because yesterday I was playing in the mud, eating ketchup..." The bunny rose a pokebrow at her. "It was lunch time and Axew wanted to build a mud castle. I took my lunch and joined him to keep him out of trouble."

Buneary stared at the mouse for a couple more second, before grinning. Neither of them were normal, but that's why they were best friends. "So you like Oshawott?"

"Shh!" Pikachu hissed, putting one finger over her lips to emphasise her point. Buneary rolled her eyes.

"Oh please! Everyone is on the other side of the clearing! They won't hear us, watch!" Just as Pikachu was about to protest the bunny shouted. "PIKACHU LOVES OSHAWOTT!" Pikachu tackled the bunny to the ground a second too late. Pikachu was on all fours over her best friend, tail held high in a defensive stance, frozen.

About twenty seconds passed and nothing was heard. Buneary grinned at her, triumphantly. "See? No-one heard us."

"I did." The two froze and looked up to see Snivy, grinning at the pair lying on a low tree branch. Pikachu blushed, lightly slapped Buneary in the arm, before getting off of her.

"How l-long were y-you there?" The Electric-type had asked the Grass-type. Snivy looked up, acting as nonchalant as possible to help put the other girls at ease.

"About five minutes..." She then jumped down, then put a hand on the mouse's shoulder. "...I won't tell anyone though...and hopefully Buneary won't either." She added, sending the third girl a look. Buneary nodded, smiling mareepishly.

"Hey." Buneary suddenly said, clapping her paws. "You're Oshawott's best friend, right?" Snivy nodded, having established a good friendship with the Water-type. "Then you'll know whether..."

"...he likes Pikachu or not?" Buneary nodded, smiling excitedly. "Well, the answer is not in that way. He's never really thought about her like that." The bunny looked surprised, looking at Pikachu who was looking at the ground, sadly.

"Why not? When I met him, he seemed like he was looking for a girlfriend. He tried to flirt with me." That's when Buneary's mind clicked. THAT'S why her best friend came to her then.

"He sees her as a 'rival' for Ash's attention. He was a starter Pokemon but was turned down by at least twenty trainers, so he followed Ash and he was nice enough to take him in. But he was jealous because our trainer used Pikachu over Oshawott, so he used to pick on her, but he stopped that." Buneary's eyes widened.

"Then why do you like him if he bullied you?!" Pikachu blushed, looking at the ground again.

"W-well...he's cute and...well you've got to admit that he's brave for picking on me." She had said. Snivy grinned as well.

"Plus you've got that old saying, 'Treat them mean. Keep them keen.'" Snivy thought for a bit. "Well, it might not apply here since Oshawott wasn't really trying but, you know."

"So what could I do?" Pikachu asked, grabbing both of the bunny's shoulders. "I want to try just in case it's not a phase..."

"It's not a phase." Snivy interrupted, causing the two to look at her. "Phases don't make you this crazy, plus you've had the hots for him since I joined! That was over a month ago! Phases last like a week or so."

That made sense. Pikachu has had crushes before. Like Sparky, Richie's Pikachu, but they were more brother and sister than anything else. She also quite liked Piplup for a little bit as well, but the guy's pride was a big put off. At least Oshawott only showed off to Ash or a girl he was trying to impress. The Penguin showed off to EVERYONE!

"So that means that it's even MORE important to get you guys together!" Buneary exclaimed, examining her friends fur. "But first, let's wash your fur! Not looking like you just walked out of a war zone is always a start..."

"Richie!" The three girls turned and ran out to see Ash shake hands with a guy with a green hat, brown hair and aqua coloured clothing. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder as well who's tail lacked the heart-shape meaning he was male and he had a turf of fur swaying to the right.

"Hey Ash! Long time no see!" The boy replied, Sparky nodding and, seeing Pikachu, jumped down to greet her, extending his tail in their own greeting.

"Pika! (Hey girl!)" Sparky said, happily. Pikachu grinned, extending her own tail and shook them much like how humans shook hands.

"Pika, chu pika? (Hey yourself, what are you doing in Unova?)" Just as she asked, Richie had explained.

"Well, I decided to try and find you. See, I've decided to take a break from all the gym battles and such but I did feel like some sort of travelling adventure, so I asked Professor Oak if he knew where you were. So I came here to ask if you would mind me tagging along?"

"Of course I don't mind!" Ash exclaimed to his friend. Richie grinned and took out two pokeballs. The other three weren't too sure who Richie was, but they were sure he was a good guy.

"Alright, then I guess some more introductions are in order." Just as the trainer said this, he threw the three pokeballs with the notable star on top. Ash almost smacked himself, remembering that he was supposed to do something like that!

"Come on out Rocky, Riptide and Flappy!" Just as he said this, the pokeballs opened up and released a Roggenrola, Oshawott and a Pidove. Ash grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the other three gawked at them.

"Ash, you have a Boldore, Oshawott, Pikachu and an Unfezant." Richie laughed, wrapping his arm round Ash, who grinned back.

"Yeah, me and this guy do tend to catch the same Pokemon. We both have a Charizard too. And a Swellow. He used to have a Butterfree and a Larvitar too." He shrugged, removing his arm to sit by Iris. "Great minds, think alike."

"You bet!" Ash said, sitting down next to Dawn, opposite him. "You came just in time for lunch as well."

* * *

Pikachu sighed as she stared at Oshawott, who was sitting by Riptide, Richie's Oshawott who was defined by the tear in his right ear. Sparky, who was next to her, grinned playfully.

"Pikachu and Oshawott, sitting in a-Ah!" Pikachu, who had heard him, shoved a bunch of her pokechow into his mouth to shut him up. Buneary giggled on his other side.

"Don't mind her, she's having trouble with him. Me, you and Snivy are the only ones who know about it." He nodded, before turning to her. His heart, he swears, had skipped a beat at the sight of her.

"_Wow...She's pretty..." _"U-um...yeah. I'm Sparky, by the way." She grinned at him, holding a paw out to shake his. He, shyly, accepted it, looking away, slightly red faced, un-noticed by his red cheeks.

"Oh, I know. Pikachu told me all about you. She mentioned that having you around is like having a twin." He grinned at that, nudging the female Pikachu with his tail, playfully. "I'm Buneary, Pikachu's bestest buddy."

"I don't know why, sometimes..." Pikachu let out, grinning. Buneary stuck her tongue out at her.

"You know you love me." She grinned as Pikachu shook her head, smiling.

"Well, it's good to meet you Buneary." Sparky said, trying his very hardest not to stutter or make a fool out of himself. Buneary, none the wiser, nodded in response. Pikachu did notice however, and smirked to herself.

"_Well, this adventure looks like it's going to be a LOT more fun..." _

* * *

ML54: Yup this story is like a dream fic for me. PikaWott, PikaBun and SniWott!

Snivy: SniWott sounds a little...weird...

ML54: I don't care! Richie was my favourite character in Pokemon just because him and Ash were pretty much clones! The novelty was amazing.

Riptide: Review if you liked, but no flaming!


	2. Ex-Team Rocket

ML54: Hey guys, I know you guys are pretty used to my weird ideas by now, but this is my strangest yet.

Pikachu: Yeah, it really is strange but he hopes you like it.

Ash: ML54 doesn't own Pokemon.

**Ex-Team Rocket**

Oshawott and Pikachu walked next to their trainer while Sparky rode on Richie's shoulder and all the other Pokemon decided to stay in their PokeBalls. The group, right now, were travelling to Castellia City for Ash's third gym badge.

The otter, very recently, lost interest in staying in his PokeBall at all, mainly because Pikachu doesn't, so why should he. But, the thing he couldn't fathom, was why the girl was walking next to him rather than on Ash's shoulder, as she usually does...

...she was quite close too.

He cast an odd look her way, wondering why she was next to him. It doesn't make much sense. Sure, they were friends somewhat, but the two rarely talked and, if they did, it was usually about training or Ash, usually an argument about the latter. He felt someone looking his way and glanced back at Pikachu, who was gazing at him.

She caught his eyes, and looked away quickly. The otter rose a pokebrow, but didn't say anything. He looked up and saw Sparky barely holding his laughter in and started to wonder what the joke was. What was wrong with everyone?!

"_Maybe it's just because they're not used to me staying out of my Pokéball..." _He thought to himself, nodding. That must be it, there's no way it could be anything else...right?

"_I should ask Snivy. She'll know what's going on." _He resolved, waddling a little quicker so they can get to a clearing or something so they can rest...

...but Team Rocket stopped them.

The group saw the three usual culprits standing their. But, strangely enough, they weren't wearing their uniforms and weren't blurting out their motto like usual. And they looked very down. James was wearing a blue t-shirt with a darker blue jacket over it, blue jeans and blue sneakers.

Jessie was wearing a red blouse and a purple mini skirt, with a pair of black boots. Meowth was at their feet, kicking the dirt.

The five raised their eyebrows at the strange sight. "Um..." Ash started, getting their attention. "...hi?"

"Hey twerps..." Jessie sighed, running her hand through her hair. "...no need to worry, we figured we'd find you and say we won't be after Pikachu anymore..."

"Really..." Ash asked, suspiciously. He knew better then to trust these three.

"And why not, dare I ask?" Richie asked, Sparky nodding in agreement. "Cause you three have been after her ever since the Kanto League."

"Really?!" Iris exclaimed, glancing at the three, down Team Rocket members. "Persistent, aren't you?"

"Tha's te thin', te boss finally had enough of us..." Meowth mentioned, glaring at the ground.

"We were fired." James finished, shocking the five. "Well...maybe that's not quite right...All of Team Rocket disbanded, Giovanni said he had to hide from the cops and told all Team Rocket members that he'd hire new ones when the time came..."

"I heard about that!" Dawn mentioned, taking out her Poketch. "I just didn't think it was true."

"Ya..." The three then walked past them.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked, concerned. Sure, these guys had continuously tried to separate him and Pikachu, but he's grown sort of fond of them. Like those annoying cousins that you have to see from time to time.

"We're going to Castellia City to see if we can get a job or something." The group facepalmed once the ex-team Rocket started to move away again.

"Castellia city is THIS way!" Cilan called to them, causing the three to face-falter into the ground.

"Oh we can't do anything right!" The three cried, hugging each other. Oshawott and Pikachu glanced up at Ash, who started to look a little sympathetic. Pikachu kind of knew where that was coming from. Stealing was what Team Rocket did, it was all they knew. And now they didn't have that, they were lost.

And if she knows Ash like she thinks she knows Ash.

"Why don't you three come with us to Castellia?" Ash offered, causing the other four to look at him in shock.

"Ash! Are you CRAZY?!" Iris yelled at him, immediately. "These guys have been trying to steal our Pokemon on a daily basis!"

"Iris, come on! Look at them!" He replied, indicating to the three weeping ex crooks. "We can't leave them alone in the woods and, if the news is right, they aren't going to try and steal anyone now! If we leave them, we'll be no better then they were when they tried to steal our Pokemon!"

Iris recoiled after hearing that. She looked and saw that Dawn, Cilan and Richie had all agreed and so, sighing agitatedly, she agreed too. "Fine then. But Arceus you're such a kid!"

"And I'm proud!" Ash grinned back, having gotten used to her saying that. He then turned back to the three and held out his hand to them, causing to look up at him in confusion. "So, offer still stands, we can travel with you to Castellia if you want?"

"Oh thank you!" James cheered, shaking his hand so much that the boy was literally having his arm thrown up and down like a wave.

"You won't regret this!" Jessie and Meowth added, expressing their thanks as well. And so, the group continued.

* * *

Oshawott glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Meowth trying to talk to Sparky, while Sparky tried to be polite back. Though it was hard since, well, they were Team Rocket.

He felt someone try to get his attention and turned to find Pikachu there. He rose a pokebrow at her and nodded, showing he was listening. "Do you think we can trust them?" She asked, fearfully. The otter thought for a while. Could they?

"_Well, I've never seen them out of their uniforms. And they did look genuinely upset about something. Plus, Dawn did say she heard this on the news...but Pikachu is Ash's best friend and Pokemon..." _Though it pained him, he knew that he was not Ash's main Pokemon and never will be.

He looked back, determined. _"Pikachu is the one that keeps this team together, I won't let them steal her if they are faking it." _"I don't really know, but don't you worry. I won't let them hurt you if they are faking." He saw her eyes fill with gratitude and felt her tail rub his, causing him to jump slightly.

"Thank you..." She replied, before turning away. She felt a lot safer now that Oshawott had said that.

She didn't realise, however, that Sparky and Meowth had heard the ENTIRE conversation. Meowth grinned. "Aw...Young love." Sparky had to hold a paw over his mouth to stop from bursting out laughing.

"Yeah. Unfortunately it seems pretty one-sided." Sparky replied, pointing to the blushing Pikachu and the confused looking Oshawott. Meowth's smile faltered a little seeing this.

"Well dat is a conundrum. Who else knows abou' dis?" Sparky held a paw to his chin, thoughtfully, before nodding.

"Buneary and Snivy I think. Why?"

"We need a plan ta ge' dose two toget'er, why else?" Sparky rose a brow at him, confused.

"Why do you want get them together?"

"Well. I know wha' dit's like ta get rejected...An' we put Pikachu through a lo' when we were Team Rocket. I jus' wanna do someting to make her happy...I like ta tink we're somewhat friends...We had our moments." Meowth explained, memories flying through his head like a tsunami.

Sparky's mind sort of started a battle against itself. On the one hand, he knew this guy was a bad pokemon but the other saw this entirely different pokemon who he completely seemed to ignore. He hummed in thought and put a paw in his turf of fur he likes to call his hair.

"_Thinking about it..." _He started in his head, glancing at all the humans talking amongst themselves, such as Cilan and Ash asking James what he was going to do while the girls were talking to Jessie...well Dawn was saying how they needed to go shopping since apparently a blouse should never go with that short skirt when the colours clashed. He doesn't understand but he's not a human or female so he wouldn't.

But mostly, he was worried about how the other Pokemon were going to react.

* * *

When everyone were released from their Pokéballs, there was a moment of confusion. Team Rocket's Woobat, Frillish, Serviper, Wobbuffet, Yanmega Amoongus, Carnavine, Mime Jr., and Yamask raced to one side while everyone else on the other five's team raced to the other to battle. That was before Cilan blew an air-horn and allowed them to explain what was going on.

So, they weren't going to fight, but they still seemed to stay in their own groups. The only ones that weren't were Sparky and Meowth, who were talking, and the rest of Richie's team as they didn't know who the Team Rocket Pokemon were.

Oshawott plopped down next to Snivy, making sure that Pikachu wasn't around. She seemed to sit next to him a lot more often too, which again worried him. He sort of wondered who most of Team Rocket's Pokemon were since he personally only really fought four of them.

Snivy rose a pokebrow at him, she usually likes to eat alone so she knew Oshawott must be stuck with something. "Sup, buddy?" Oshawott sighed, glancing at Pikachu, who was sitting with Buneary right now.

Once he was sure that the mouse wasn't listening to him, he asked. "Do you think something's wrong with Pikachu?" Snivy was sort of surprised that the otter noticed. He was usually quite oblivious to what goes on around him.

"What do you mean?" Oshawott sighed, of course the snake wouldn't have noticed, she usually stayed in her Pokéball until the time calls for it.

"I mean...well...I'm not sure how to explain it really..." Snivy was relieved that he couldn't tell she was acting as if she didn't know what he was talking about, but sighed at his stupidity. He wasn't very good with words. "Well...She seems to be walking next to me more often...She sits next to me during lunch...Plus she always watches me during training."

Snivy sighed again, running a hand over her face. Of course he'd notice Pikachu watching him battle, as the girl would literally GAWP at him! She needs to be more subtle!

"I don't know what to tell you, Wott..." She shrugged, using a little nickname she came up with for him since, well, Oshawott was kind of a clunky name. "Maybe you should ask her."

Oshawott snorted. "Yeah, I walk up to her and ask her why she's acting weird. That'll go down well." He replied, sarcastically. Riptide then came over to them.

"Hey guys, what you talking about?" Riptide had asked, sitting down next to the other otter, raising an eyebrow. Since him and Oshawott were both of the same species, they were quite quick to make friends. Oshawott sighed.

"Not anything important." He replied, getting up. "Thanks anyway Snivy. See ya later." With that, he left the two alone. Riptide turned to Snivy, smiling.

"Hey, I'm Riptide." Snivy glanced at him before nodding, smiling.

"My name's Snivy, pleased to meet you." She replied, holding out a vine for him to shake, which he did so. "So, you're with Richie then?"

"Yup! He and Sparky saved me from a pack of Bisharp and Pawniards. If they were a second too late, my head would have been cleaved straight off." The snake flinched, remembering some not-too-fond memories from her old trainer.

"Is that what happened to your ear?" She asked, noticing the tear that almost made it look as if he had three ears.

"Yeah. But hey, better than being dead, right?" She nodded, looking away from the ear.

"Yeah, I suppose so. But, well, doesn't something like that haunt you or anything?" She, unconsciously, moved her tail away at that point, remembering an old wound that was inflicted by her old trainer.

"Oh, everytime I see my reflection, yes. But you learn to live with it and move forwards." The otter said, shrugging his shoulders, smiling. "No point dwelling in the past, I just look to the future."

"_Wow, wise words." _She thought to herself, gazing at the Unovian starter with respect. Not a lot of Pokemon can move on from experiences like that, but he seemed to shrug it off like it was nothing. Unlike her.

See, her old trainer was very strict and did not accept failure under any circumstances. But she had only just joined the team when he was to face the Castellia City gym, but with Burgh's pokemon being bug types, she lost quickly.

After that, her trainer had got a knife and had rammed it straight through her tail and left her in an alley way, muttering something along the lines of 'useless Pokemon' and 'deserves to die'.

She had managed to free herself, just, and had to hold onto the wound tightly and retreated to the forest to find someone to her. Luckily for her, there was an Audino there and the Pokemon was able to nurse her wounded tail.

However, her tail had a scar where the knife had embedded itself, a red line on the left, leaf like appendage. That was also why she wasn't very trusting of Ash right away, she was afraid of a repeat of what had happened, but after seeing Ash for who he was, she allowed him to try and catch her. And catch her he did.

"Yeah...right..." She let the conversation drop there, waving her tail round away from Riptide to hide the scar. Only Oshawott knew her story and that was only because they were best friends. She barely knew the new Water-type at all.

* * *

"Hey Buneary..." Pikachu tried to get the attention of her best friend. Buneary turned and nodded for her to continue. "...do you...Do you think Oshawott will ever like me?" The rabbit nodded.

"Of course Pikachu. I'm sure he'll start flirting with you in no time." The Electric-type sighed and glanced around to find said Water-type. She growled, however, when she saw that Emolga was, once again, leading him on.

Buneary followed her gaze and saw what Emolga was doing. Before she could do anything though, Pikachu had gotten up and rushed towards them. Panicked, the Sinnoh Pokemon followed.

But what she saw may have been a little deceptive.

* * *

_Five minutes earlier_

"Hey Oshawott, can I talk to you real quick?" The otter glanced up and saw the dual-type Emolga there. Curiously, he nodded. "Well...um...I just uh..."

"What's up?" He asked, curiously. She sighed, ears flat against her skull. This was going to be tough. She knew Oshawott was a sensitive guy, but she had to make this clear to him.

See, she found herself talking to Axew and Scraggy earlier and the kids had asked her why she got 'Uncle Oshawott' to do stuff for her all the time when the pair weren't mates.

She had begun to think about before realising she didn't have an answer for them. She couldn't really explain it, it was more like an opportunity thing to get food or something like that. But, when she said that to them Axew called her mean. And it hurt to hear her own team mate call her that.

So, to clear her conscience, she had to break it to Oshawott. "I know this'll be tough to hear...but...I'd appreciate it if...maybe you'd stop flirting and doing stuff for me..." Oshawott tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Why?"

"Because...well...I kinda just don't like you that way." Oshawott's eyes had widened and he felt his chest start to clench, painfully. "I think...I think it'll be better if we were just friends..." This was another reason she didn't want to tell him the truth, it was just easier to let him believe the lie then to have to see him cry.

She heard him snivel and saw a few tears start to form. She didn't even notice Pikachu racing towards them, so wasn't aware of how much trouble she was in. "C'mon Oshy...Please don't cry."

But he couldn't help it. This was the ninth time a female had refused him and it was starting to become too much. So he cried, and he cried hard.

"EMOLGA!" She jumped, and turned to face Pikachu, startled and a little frightened by how angry the mouse was. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"I...I-I was just saying th-that it'd be better if we were friends, that was it! I swear!" Pikachu turned and saw the otter crying into his paws, tears still running down his chin. He actually thought he was making progress with Emolga.

Pikachu seemed to lose it and was about to jump and attack poor Emolga, who was trying to do the right thing! She was stuck, however, and felt her feet get really cold all of a sudden, causing Emolga to look extremely relieved.

She glanced down and saw that her feet were frozen to the floor and turned to Buneary, who had started leaning on her knees, panting hard. "Jeez! I forgot how fast you were!"

"Buneary! Let me go!" Buneary looked at Emolga, ignoring her angry friend.

"You'd better run, she'll thaw out soon." Emolga nodded, looked at Oshawott apologetically, and raced off to their trainers, knowing full well that Pikachu won't try to attack her there.

Once she got there, Pikachu smashed the glass away with Iron Tail and glared, furiously, at Buneary who grabbed her by the shoulders. "Look! I know your angry that she hurt Oshawott, but she isn't going to be leading him on anymore! She was just doing the right thing!"

The mouse glared at her for a few more seconds, before dropping it and turning to Oshawott, who wad run out of tears at this point, looking at the ground defeatedly. "Are you okay, Oshawott?"

"Do I LOOK okay?" He retorted, sarcastically. He looked up her, eyes red and blank, like part of him was just yanked out of him. "Why? Why? What's wrong with me?! Why doesn't anyone want to go out with me?!"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Oshawott." Buneary stated, firmly. "You just haven't found the right girl yet." Pikachu gave her a look. "O-or maybe they should try to find you." Pikachu glared at her, causing the bunny to mouth 'what do you want me to say?!' back.

He shook his head and stood up, glaring at his ground. "Well, you know what! I'm sick of getting rejected all the time! Sick of trying my very hardest and getting no-where!"

"_Man...Emolga just shattered his self esteem..." _Buneary thought to herself, seeing him push past Pikachu and look at his reflection in a nearby puddle.

"I'm just going to stop! No more of this stupid 'trying to find a girlfriend' stuff! Nothing! I'm done with it!" With that said, he went back to the group, leaving a stunned Buneary behind with Pikachu.

The rabbit, at this point, was afraid to look beside her, in fear of what Pikachu's reaction would be. Oshawott was the first guy that Pikachu had felt this strongly about. But now he said that he's not going to bother trying to find a girlfriend anymore!

But, curiosity got the better of her and what she saw made her heart break a little. Her eyes were watering, her form slouched and sitting, her electrical charges sending out tiny, weak sparks into the ground. She heard a sob, then a snivel until Pikachu had now started crying.

"_Oh this is bad!" _She thought to herself, hugging her best friend, supportively, ignoring the static charges that were being transferred to her body. "I'm sure he didn't mean it...C'mon Pikachu...We both know he won't give up that easily."

"This is n-not something h-he's g-going to g-get over...*sniff*...he's been t-trying t-to get Emolg-ga to like h-him since before you came h-here...a-at least a month...a-and since she's b-been using him...h-he probably f-felt he was making progress..." Buneary's eyes started to water hearing that.

"_What a heartless Jynx! Why do that to such a sweet Pokemon?!" _She shook her head, she needed to be strong for her friend here.

* * *

Meowth and Sparky had also saw what had happened, and looked down. "Damn...Oshawott's goin' ta be tough ta bring aroun' now..."

"You think we can bring him around, at all?" Meowth nodded to the Electric-type, determinedly.

"Oshawott's bin lookin' for someone since he joined you guyz, he ain't goin' ta give up! Especially if someone DOES return his feelin's." The Pikachu nodded, that made sense.

He looked at Pikachu and had to look away, sighing. It hurt him to see his sister figure so heart broken, but he couldn't confront Oshawott about this since, not only does Oshawott not know what he's done, but he'd accidentally tell the otter, Pikachu's feelings. So if Oshawott really doesn't like Pikachu like that, it would make the situation worse!

So he really has no choice but to trust the Cat-Scratch Pokemon and hope to Arceus that something goes right for once.

* * *

ML54: Well here it is, I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Oshawott: I didn't...

Mew: I don't think you were supposed to.

Sparky: ML54 would like reviews, but do not flame him.


	3. Awkwardness

ML54: I am so sorry for leaving you guys on hold for so long, but the writers block is back!

Mew: OH NO!

ML54: Yup, the disease which pretty much pisses everyone on Fanfiction off. It means it might be a while until my next update, but I will try and fight through it. Til then, I don't own Pokemon.

**Awkwardness**

Oshawott slashed, hacked, sliced and chopped at the bark of a distant tree from the others, taking out all the pain in his heart on the poor tree which looked ready to be hallowed out by this point.

His face hadn't changed from it's angry but heartbroken state. Tears still streaked down. "Forget her!" He vented out to himself, slashing a particularly deep cut into the bark. "She was nothing but flirt! She's not worth it!"

He, of course, was talking about Emolga. He was training to try and forget about the female, but he just couldn't escape the pain in his chest. He really started to develop true feelings for the squirrel. Starting to actually fall in love with her!

He lost his grip on his weapon and dropped it as he fell to his knees. The saddest part was that he wasn't actually using Razor Shell, he just couldn't maintain the attack, so settled for just smacking his shell into the plant.

"Oshawott!" Snivy called, rushing to him. "It's...It's lunch time...C'mon, some food will help."

"I'm not hungry..." He replied, quietly. Snivy wrapped her vines around his stomach and started to drag him through the forest. Despite him not wanting to be where, he was sure, Emolga would be, he just didn't feel the strength to fight back.

"Don't give me that! You are eating, even if I have to cram the food down your throat! I'm not letting you starve yourself!" Before he could protest, his stomach decided to take her side and rumbled, having exerted a lot of energy turning that tree into, what resembled, a scratching post for Purloins.

"Fine..." He replied before he was plomped in front of his food bowl. He assumed that Snivy was going to sit with him, so was surprised when she walked off. _"So...She drags me out here to eat, but isn't going to make sure I actually DO eat." _

Before his head could further contemplate the weirdness of Snivy's behaviour, he turned and found himself sitting opposite Pikachu, who was staring at him with eyes that resembled dinner plates.

He stared back blankly, before looking down and picking up his food to start eating. Pikachu shook her head and started doing the same thing. _"What the Hell, Snivy?! What the ACTUAL Hell?!" _She thought, chewing almost painfully at the piece of pokechow in her mouth.

* * *

Snivy was walking over to wear Sparky, Buneary and Meowth were sitting, watching the scene take place. "Is this really going to work?"

"If dey'd talk it would!" Meowth replied, eating a bit of his own food, smiling pro-furiously at the taste. Cilan was an excellent cook. "Any ideas how ta do dat?"

Buneary grinned and stood up , gathering ice blue energy between her ears. She then fired it at the conker that was hanging just above the female mouse's head. "Sorry girlfriend, but this is for your own good."

* * *

The pure power behind the energy beam caused the stem that connected the conker to the tree to snap and the conker to land on her head. "OW!" She cried as the spiky case of the conker had embedded itself slightly in her scalp.

He rose a pokebrow at her, before spotting the green, spiky seed inbetween her ears. "You need any help?" She looked at him in pain and nodded. At least now she had an excuse to let out a few tears. "Alright, hold still..."

He moved much closer to the mouse until he was face to face with her. This caused her breath to hitch and her eyes to widen a little, colour starting to taint her cheeks. Oshawott didn't notice though, as he was busy looking over her head and the damage the conker had done.

He moved a paw up and stroked a bit of her fur out of the way of some of the spikes. Pikachu's heart rate increased ten-fold as he did so, her not being used to him touching her so delicately.

Once the otter was finished with that, he saw the seed wasn't too badly embedded into her scalp. "Alright...Brace yourself..." He said to her as calmly as he could to put his somewhat friend at ease. She nodded and tensed her muscles.

Once he saw that, he carefully grabbed hold of the conker and pulled it off, a tiny bit of blood left one of the new openings that appeared. He quickly wiped that away and tried to clean it off with a weak Water Gun, so as to not let it get infected.

Pikachu felt as if her blush would be enough melt a Glaceon at this point. She just couldn't seem to be able to control her breathing or her heart rate with him this close.

Oshawott looked over her scalp and nodded, smiling a small smile to himself before it quickly faded. He knew he didn't do anything that Pansage or Cilan couldn't have done just as easily.

He threw the conker aside, having no need for one personally, and got back to his food bowl. "Thank you..." He heard Pikachu say to him, quietly. He looked round to acknowledge her, nodding.

"It's alright. It's no big deal." He shrugged, grabbing a piece of food to eat before Pikachu started talking again.

"You...You shouldn't stop...looking for a mate you know..." Oshawott glared at the ground for a bit before replying.

"What's the point, Pikachu? Even if I do try again, I'll just be shot down like a Lillipup with rabies...I should just face facts. I'm a stupid, ugly excuse for a Pokemon..."

"I shouldn't even dignify that with a response!" Pikachu suddenly shouted, causing the Water-type to jump slightly. "Oshawott! You're NOT stupid and you're NOT ugly! How could you let Emolga make you think like that?!"

"It's not JUST Emolga, Pikachu!" He responded. "There are plenty of other failures under my belt! They can't ALL be wrong, Pikachu!"

"Well, believe it or not, THEY ARE!" She yelled back, not really aware that other Pokemon are listening now. "Oshawott, this isn't who you are. You're not the type to give up on anything. Are you really going to let this bring you down?"

The otter paused, as if thinking about it. It's true that he wants to find a mate, but everyone he's tried with so far has turned him down. He'd like to think that he could find a girl who'd like him, but...

"I don't know..." He sighed, plucking his scalchop off his stomach to stare at it. "I just...I've tried so many times and I'm...I'm tired of getting rejected all the time...Tired of how much it hurts when I do get rejected..."

Pikachu's ears flattened against her skull in sadness for the otter. She knows exactly what he's going through right now since, well, everytime he flirts with another female it feels as if he's rejecting her over and over again.

She put a paw on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Stay strong, Oshawott. Who knows, the right girl could be just around the corner." He looked up to respond but kind of lost his words when he realised how close the mouse had actually gotten to him.

Those eyes of hers where the things that had him tongue tied the most though. Even if one were to of had a map, they would still get lost in them. Her yellow fur was slightly glowing in the sunlight as well. _"Whoa...What happened to the dirt that was in her fur yesterday? By Arceus she's be..." _

He immediately rejected that thought and looked away, blushing slightly. "Thanks Pikachu. I feel a bit better now." She smiled to him and nodded.

"Good. Don't want you down in the dumps. It's bad for your health." She then walked over to Buneary to talk for a bit, not noticing Oshawott stare after her.

He then slapped himself in the forehead and dragged his paw over his face. _"NO! NO! Arceus! Out of everyone to start falling for! Why her?! Why the ONE girl that will ALWAYS be too good for me?!" _

* * *

"Did you see that?" Sparky whispered to Meowth having noticed Oshawott's staring on Pikachu and his slight blush. Meowth nodded, smiling.

"I sure did. Looks like we got Oshawott intwested." Snivy smiled in the background, not really into making conversation. She was happy that Oshawott was starting to like a female that actually returns his feelings.

"_It's great that he not going to get rejected again. It's about time he gets a mate."_

* * *

Emolga was perched on an apple tree, silently weeping over what she put Oshawott through. "I-I can't believe I m-made him cry." Despite trying to let him down as gently as possible, she saw how much it tore the guy up when she rejected him.

The guy may have been a bit flirty but she saw that he had good intentions. That he wasn't just trying to get a quick mating session just to leave again. He would have been prepared for the full commitment. But she just didn't feel that way about him.

"Hey. Emolga..." She glanced down to see the base of her thoughts standing there, looking a little apprehensive. She glided down, wiping her face clean, quickly.

"Hi Oshawott..." She replied, awkwardly. This was a strange situation to be in. But she should have seen it coming, really. She's still going to be travelling with him since their trainers travel together, so they were unlikely to be able to avoid each other.

They stood around like that, avoiding each others gaze, for about five more minutes, neither really knowing what to say. Eventually though, Oshawott sighed.

"Um...I'm sorry about crying like that...I must of..." She interrupted him.

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Why are YOU apologising? I should be the one to do that..." She trailed off at the end causing a confused Oshawott to look up at her. "I...I should be apologising for...leading you on. Making you think you were getting closer to me...when all I wanted was the extra apples...It was a horrible thing for me to do...and I just didn't realise how horrible it was until Axew said so..."

"It's okay..."

"No it's not!" She protested, turning away from him and glaring at the tree she was sat on a few moments ago. "It's not okay! I hurt you so badly. In ways that you could never deserve. I-I...want to make it up to you. But I don't know how! I...I don't know how..."

The pair, finished with their words, just stood there, fidgeting, rubbing their arms or just looking around to find a distraction to get away from the other.

Oshawott soon spotted Axew and Scraggy going to the lake and decided to supervise them. "I better make sure Axew and Scraggy stay safe..." He said, taking a few steps back. "I'll...uh...I'll see you later."

Before she could respond, he ran off. She sighed in relief, happy that he didn't notice HER crying. "Emolga?" She turned to be face-to-face with Tepig, who looked concerned. "Why are you crying?"

In shock, Emolga rubbed her cheek and felt the tears she didn't even know she let out. _"Then that means that Oshawott DID see me cry! Great!" _She thought to herself, sarcastically. "I...I stumped my foot on a pothole earlier."

Well, that was somewhat the truth. When she ran away from Pikachu while she was subdued, she tripped over halfway there before getting up to continue running. Thinking about it now, it was slightly swollen.

Tepig glanced at her foot and noticed that her normally white foot was a purplish colour and was slightly swollen. In concern he got closer to her and pressed his foot into it, lightly.

"Ah!" She responded, falling onto her hind. "What the Hell, Tepig?! That hurt!" He didn't respond for a few seconds while he looked around it before sighing.

"Emolga, you've broken your ankle. You need to see Cilan about this." She crossed her arms, looking away from him.

"I'd rather not...I don't really want to face anyone right now...Ow!" She cried at the end once she got up and put pressure on her right foot, where her injury was. Tepig glared a bit.

"That's only going to get worse if you don't treat it. Now c'mon, we're going to see Cilan even if I have to drag you there, kicking and screaming." He then smirked a bit, glancing at her foot. "Not tat you'd get far."

Emolga sighed, but nodded. But, just to get back at him somewhat, hopped onto his back. "Fine, then you'll have to carry me. Flying requires me to use my legs somewhat and walking on it can't be good for me."

"Fair enough." Tepig shrugged, trudging over to the humans. "You're light enough, anyway."

* * *

ML54: Yeah, not a long chapter but as I said, writers block.

Pikachu: Please review and maybe PM him some inspiration please. But don't flame or hate mail him!


	4. Seperated

ML54: Hey guys, next chapters here. And I'd like to thank Dustchu and Fireflare249 for their suggestion and I'd like to give a special thanks to Chief of Avia For defending me against my first flamer, Luckenhaft.

Mew: *Rolls eyes* He wasn't even good at flaming. He gotfacts of this story wrong and was surpirsed to see Pikachu as a girl, despite putting that in the story's description.

Oshawott: Yeah, ignore him buddy and keep writing since he, literally, the first flamer you've had.

ML54: *Smiles* Yeah, thanks guys. I don't own Pokemon, stating the obvious.

**Separated**

The group decided to try and get to Castellia City as soon as possible once they found out about Emolga's broken ankle. But everyone wanted to stay out of their Pokéballs mainly because they were trying to find out exactly HOW Emolga managed to break it.

She was riding in Iris's arms right now, so only Axew had the opportunity to ask, but he was with Scraggy right now, playing tag. They let Mime Jr. play as well since the little Psychic-type was friendly. So Emolga sighed in relief and started to fall asleep.

Pikachu was with Meowth talking about some of their less miserable moments with Buneary and Sparky. "Remember that incident with that musical ball."

"Oh how cood I forget!" Meowth remarked, face-palming himself. "Dat ting had us dancin' for Arceus knows how lon'." Pikachu laughed, remembering how embarrassing the situation was for the pair of them having to dance together.

"I don't think this is a story we need to hear." Sparky commented, grinning. Meowth is a lot more fun to hang out with when he wasn't a criminal. He heard the laughed from Pikachu die down and turned to see that she had walked over to Oshawott. Buneary giggled.

"She's very eager to get him to like her, isn't she?" The Cat-Scratch Pokemon looked over and nodded.

"Yup. But it's workin'." Buneary stopped a bit, eyes widening a little.

"Really?" Sparky nodded, pointing at Oshawott. Or more specifically his light blush. Buneary's eyes it up and giggled even more, hopping over to Snivy to tell her. The second mouse watched after her sighing.

"You like watcha see?" He jumped, having forgotten that Meowth was there and tried to shake his blush away quickly.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to reply, convincingly, to the grinning cat.

"Don' lie ta me. I can tell you like 'er." He shrugged. "Besides, she is cute." Sparky glared at him, cheeks sparkling.

"Paws off!" He quickly put his own paws over his mouth as the words left causing Meowth to grin in triumph.

* * *

Iris glanced down to see Oshawott pointing up at Emolga and giving off a cute little pouty look. "You want to speak to Emolga, Oshawott?" Emolga heard that and tried to get Iris's attention to tell her no, but Oshawott had her hooked on his cute look.

"_Damn! I must of rubbed off on him!" _Just as she thought this, Oshawott was hefted up so he was in Iris's hair like Axew would do. He smiled at her slightly.

"Hey..." Emolga said, awkwardly. Oshawott nodded, smiling.

"Hi. You'll be glad to know that I've found a way for you to make it up to me." Emolga rose a pokebrow but nodded for him to continue. "I, well...I want you to give Tepig a chance."

"A chance at what?" Oshawott rolled his eyes, but glanced around to make sure that Tepig wasn't around. Thankfully he was talking to Pansage right now.

"I want you to...well...go on a date with him." Her eyes snapped open further as the otter explained his unusual request. "It's just that...Tepig's a nice guy and...he told me he likes you a lot and..."

"Why'd he tell you?" She asked, curiously.

"Because he told me when I still believed I had a chance. He was telling me because...well if the two of us became mates he said he'd feel guilty for having feelings for his team-mate's mate..." Oshawott then smirked a bit. "But since that's no longer an issue, I was thinking that you and him could try."

"I don't think so..." Emolga replied, glancing at the Fire-type. "I...I don't think he's the kind of guy I'd go for...he's not the best looking..."

"Beauty is only skin deep." Oshawott replied. "I know you well enough to know you're not as vain as the others think you are. And Tepig is a really good guy. I'm not telling you to be his mate right away...I'm just asking you to give him a shot."

"But..." The Dual-type tried to argue, but found nothing. Her mind was telling her that this was a great opportunity to get back on good terms with the otter...and Tepig was really caring about her well being with her foot.

"Look, I've never gone on a date before...I've always been shot down straight away...And you could tell how much it hurts me...I just don't want Tepig to go through that..." He continued when Emolga said nothing. "But I feel that, if you do give him a chance and it goes badly anyway, then he'd understand why you turned him down..."

Emolga sighed, but smiled a bit at Oshawott's reasoning. He was just looking out for his friend's well being. "Okay...If or when he asks, I'll give him a chance."

"That's all I ask." Oshawott smiled, jumping down to stand next to Pikachu once more.

* * *

Soon the group made it to the outskirts of the forest and to the bridge that would take them to the city...

But five men stood in front of them, blocking their path towards the bridge. These men all wore a black, skin tight outfit and a black hat with a grey mouth guard. "Hold there!" One of them men ordered, holding his palm out with a Pokéball in the other.

"It's Team Plasma!" Ash called out, causing confusion to display in Richie and Dawn's expressions.

"Who?" The five in front faltered at Richie's question, but managed to maintain their composure.

"We are Team Plasma, and we fight to free Pokemon from us humans! We fight to liberate all Pokemon! Now release them at once!" The Pokemon in front of the group glared, defiantly as their trainers did so.

"No way would we do that!" Dawn yelled, Piplup standing by her side to match her pose. "Our Pokemon are our friends! Our partners! There's no way we'd just release them!"

"Fine!" The grunt to the far left responded, throwing three Pokéballs into the air. "Then we'll have to separate you by force! Go Swoobat, Krokorok and Vanillish!" The three aforementioned Pokemon appeared in front of that grunt as the other four all released the same three except the final grunt, their leader, who also sent out a Zangoose.

"Uh oh..." Pikachu let out, glancing back at Seviper who had spotted the rival Pokemon and his eyes showed an uncontrollable rage.

"ZANGOOSE!" Seviper cried, charging the Normal type with a Poison Tail. The Zangoose spotted the snake and showed equal rage.

"SEVIPER!" Zangoose cried, throwing his claws into Seviper's Poison Tail with a Crush Claw.

"Boss...Maybe that wasn't such a good idea..." One of the grunts mentioned, watching the two rival Pokemon try to rip each other's throats out.

"I don't care! Just liberate those Pokemon!" He yelled back.

Soon, a full scale battle was taking place. Iris had to put Emolga down to command Axew and Excadrill properly, but she was forced away from the injured Pokemon with an Ice Beam from one of the Vanillish.

Luckily, Tepig had stood firm in front of the squirrel, making sure to protect her from anything that came their way.

"Rocky! Rock Blast!" The Roggenrola fired off a few rocks to push back the oncoming Swoobat. "Riptide! Razor Shell!" The Oshawott with the bad ear nodded and slashed the Krokorok who was about to use Crunch on Snivy while she was subduing another Krokorok.

"Buneary! Dizzy Punch!" Buneary grinned and smacked one of the ice cream like Pokemon away from Sparky.

"Yamask! Will'o'wisp!" Yamask nodded at Jame's command and fired off dark balls of flames which hit a couple of Krokoroks, inflicting a burn status.

"Axew! Dragon Rush!" Axew charged and smacked a Swoobat away from Scraggy, who was grateful for the help as she was focused on a Vanillish on her right and her left.

"Tranquil! Air Cutter!" The bird nodded and fired off a few gusts of wind, allowing Seviper to free himself from the Zangoose's claws. He then had a pause when he looked at the Zangoose.

"_Wait...All of those Plasma Pokemon are my enemies! Ignore the Zangoose and help your friends!" _He berated himself and smacked a Vanillish away from Amoongus with Poison Tail. Jessie was extra relieved to have her Pokemon back to normal.

Wobbuffet started to panic a bit, seeing all these attacks flying around left right and centre and decided to try and finish it up.

He rushed to the centre of the field as everyone launched their most powerful attacks at once and cried out. "WOBBUFFET! (MIRROR COAT!)" Suddenly, all the attacks went straight back into the directions they had come from and caused a massive explosion.

Unfortunately this explosion caused the Plasma grunts and their Pokemon to fly towards the city, but also caused Wobbuffet and the rest of the group to scatter amongst the forest.

* * *

Pikachu's eyes fluttered open, groaning in pain as a sharp pain was felt on her head. She rubbed her scalp, flinching a bit as she did so. Luckily, she wasn't bleeding, but she had a pretty big bruise on her head.

She sat up to find herself next to a river bed in a small, forest clearing. Not big enough for the whole group, but a lone trainer and their party of six Pokemon could probably rest here.

She walked over to the water's edge to get a quick drink, her throat feeling particularly dry when she noticed something coming to the surface.

Thinking it was a Magikarp or something, she started to lap at the water before her eyes snapped open in realization...

...you don't get Magikarp in the Unova region.

She dashed back as a red Basculin shot forward to try and get a bite out of her. "Damn! Missed!" It, or rather he, exclaimed, jumping out of the water. "Guess it'll be the old fashion way. Aqua Jet!" Suddenly, that same fish shot forward.

Pikachu stood her ground though. "THUNDERBOLT!" She cried, about to shoot out the electrical charge she was well known for...

...and a tiny spark flew off her cheeks.

Before she could contemplate what had happened, the piranha like Pokemon hit her in the abdomen, causing her to hit the tree behind her. "AAHHH!"

"That's good! Stay still, meat!" He hissed, clamping his jaws over her arm. She cried out, flailing about, trying desperately to launch a Thunderbolt to protect herself.

She felt her blood start to pool around her new wound and, with as much strength as she could manage, she punched the fish in the eye. "OW!" She took this opportunity to clutch her arm in pain, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. "You little Bitch!"

He turned and his eyes landed on her neck. "Please...Just let me go..."

"No can do, circle of life and all." The Basculin replied, nonchalantly, rushing forward...

...and straight into an outstretched scalchop.

The fish's eyes widened as Oshawott stood in front of Pikachu, holding his weapon into his chest, before pushing him away. "You want a meal, go somewhere else! She's with me!"

"Y-yes...S-sorry sir..." The Basculin then dived back into the water and up the stream. Pikachu glanced at her saviour, smiling in relief.

"Th-thank you Oshawott..." He grinned back, before noticing the blood and dropping all positive emotions immediately, concern and fear replacing everything he had before.

"Oh Arceus, Pikachu that doesn't look to good..." She was going to reassure him that she'd be fine, but she passed out before she could.

"PIKACHU!" He cried in fear, seeing the girl fall limp against the trunk of a nearby tree. He felt panicked at this point, wondering what to do and where to go.

"No! First the wound! You have to be strong!" He told himself, grabbing some leaves and vines that were around, conveniently.

He got down onto his knees and used a weak Water Gun to clean the wound. Once clean of the blood, he saw the jaw marks of the Basculin, the red marks standing out against her yellow fur.

He sighed, before washing the leaves with Water Gun to wrap her arm in. He was just going to have to hope that it won't get infected. It'd help if there were some Sitris or Oran berry trees around. But he'd have to make due.

He then wrapped the vine under her arm, just below her wrist, and around her neck to help keep it elevated. Leaned back to admire the sling he had managed to fasten out of leaves and vines.

But that wasn't going to wake her up, but she was breathing normally so that was a good sign.

He sighed looking around the small clearing. They seemed to have been knocked out for a while. He, himself, had woken up when he heard Pikachu screaming. But the sun was starting to go down and the temperature was going to drop.

"_This is bad..." _He thought to himself, looking at the injured mouse. _"We're alone in the forest and it's going to be night soon...We need to find shelter..." _

With that thought in mind, he lifted up Pikachu, bridal style, and started to carry her towards the hilly area just ahead of him, hoping to find a burrow for the night.

* * *

ML54: Review please, but NO flamers.


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